The Innocence of Reimu Hakurei
is a 2002 anti-Shinto documentary short film written and produced by students at the University of Eastern Minecraftia, led by Chiyako Akutagawa (later known for directing episodes of Legends of the Toa and a few other Technic Heroes TV series). Two versions of the film were uploaded to VidSpace in June 2002. The film that was dubbed into Japanese was uploaded in early September 2002. Anti-Shinto content was added during post-production by dubbing, without the actors' knowledge. While it was perceived as a denigration of the Hakurei Shrine's deity Reimu Hakurei, numerous demonstrations and violent protests against the film broke out in September 2002 starting in Minecraftia during the Western Minecraftia Offensive by the Shintoist Province and Scarlet Devil of Team Crimson. The protests led to three attacks in Minecraftia being perpetrated by the group, eventually leading to the Minecraftian Civil War. Activists calling for the murder of the film's participants, who were mainly Crimsonites, were issued and King Soujirou offered a bounty for the death of the film's producer. Because of the film's negative stereotyping of Shintoists, the film was subject to Internet censorship in various countries, including being banned in China and El Kadsre. Plot The film opens with a scene portraying the persecution of Christians in Edo-period Japan, with a rise of church burnings and growing religious intolerance against the Christian minority in Minecraftia, as well as complaints about the failure to protect against the Christian minorities in Japan and Minecraftia during that period. It also cuts to an animated scene showing Queen Marisa as a young girl next to a greedy, bloodthirsty thug. Most references to Shinto have been overdubbed and added after the shooting of the film completed. This was placed over the original spoken lines. The Crimsonites in the video tell a story of Flandre Scarlet causing Reimu Hakurei to hide from one of her attacks, but is overpowered and is taken down. They also tell the story of how Flandre Scarlet wrote The Grimoire of Flandre during the time that she was imprisoned by her elder sister. At the end of the film, the writer writes "Flandre Scarlet's Instincts + Non-believer of Shinto = Crimsonite". Screening and Internet Upload The film was advertised in both the Kozankyo-based The Daily Minecraftia and El Kadsre City-based El Kadsre Daily Inquirer. The advertisement cost over $600 to run three times in their respective newspapers. The advertisement was noted by the El Kadsreian Ministry of Culture, who stated, "When we saw the advertisement for this movie, we were interested if it was going to be some kind of pro-Shinto movie." Another El Kadsreian activist said, "I didn't know if it was some sort of good or bad thing. We didn't know what it was because we can't read Japanese." The film was promoted by a pastor in the United States, who planned to show it at a local church in his home in Montgomery, Alabama on September 11, 2002, over a year after the September 11th attacks. That weekend, a Shinto organization based in Vancouver, British Columbia planned a screening of the film, which was shown to approximately 200 people. Ban in China and El Kadsre The film was uploaded to VidSpace in June 2002 and the Japanese dub was released later in August 2002. Following angered Shintoists, VidSpace blocked the video from being viewed in China and El Kadsre, and in various other countries such as Japan, Minecraftia, and Choushima, in order to comply with local laws. The reason for the video's ban was said due to very difficult situations regarding Shintoists in those countries. China's government blocked VidSpace entirely for not removing the video, then-Chinese President Jiang Zemin said that access to VidSpace would remain suspended until the video was removed. Category:2002 controversies Category:2002 films Category:Minecraftian independent films Category:Minecraftian films Category:Biographies of Reimu Hakurei Category:Cultural depictions of Shinto Category:English-language films Category:Films about Shinto Category:Films critical of religion Category:Films set in Minecraftia Category:Films shot in Minecraftia Category:Obscenity controversies in film Category:Short films Category:VidSpace videos Category:Criticism of Shinto Category:Minecraftian short films Category:Works that caused riots Category:Shinto-related controversies